Abstract
Combining physical activity and academic content is a promising way to improve health and academic learning in schoolchildren. This paper examined the continuation of physically active lessons (PAL) in five Norwegian elementary schools, two years after a 10-month intervention period, which consisted of weekly minimum 2 x 45 min of PAL. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine teachers and five school leaders. The Level of Use instrument was used to assess how the teachers integrated PAL into the school day. Two years after the intervention period, seven of nine teachers conducted PAL regularly, on average one lesson per week. Teachers’ implementation progress varied from struggling with logistics, to stable routine and creative adaption. Perceived benefits for the children, active leadership, and ongoing implementation support seem important for continuation. Introduction of PAL as a school development project, systematic planning from the onset and a gradual introduction of PAL, can be an effective strategy for continuation and long-term sustainability. In addition, the Level of Use instrument was useful to better understand which support mechanisms are needed at different stages in the implementation of PAL.
Highlights
It is well known that regular participation in physical activity (PA) is beneficial for children’s physical and mental health (Janssen & LeBlanc, 2010)
Two teachers did not continue with physically active lessons (PAL) after the intervention period
Teacher 1 said: “I felt that the students got a bit tired of physically active lessons because it was many of the same activities, so I might be a bit tired myself too.”
Summary
It is well known that regular participation in physical activity (PA) is beneficial for children’s physical and mental health (Janssen & LeBlanc, 2010). Continuation and long-term sus tainability of PA interventions in schools have been shown to be very difficult (McKay et al, 2015; Naylor et al, 2015), in particular due to schools’ focus on academic performance over health related outcomes (Bartholomew & Jowers, 2011; Cothran, Kulinna, & Garn, 2010). Combining PA and academic content, so called physically active lessons (PAL), is a promising way of increasing children’s PA levels and aca demic related outcomes, such as attention, cognitive function and aca demic achievement, without reducing academic time (Norris, Shelton, Dunsmuir, Duke-Williams, & Stamatakis, 2015; Watson, Timperio, Brown, Best, & Hesketh, 2017). The “Active School” programme started in the city of Stavanger, Norway in 2013, with the primary aim of increasing children’s physical activity levels during school. The “Active School” programme consisted of weekly 5 × 10 min active breaks and 5 × 10 min physically active homework
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